John Holland was a brilliant man with a vision of how submarines could change naval warfare. His humble beginnings gave no clue of the contribution he would make not to his native Ireland but to the navies of some of the world's most powerful countries.

John Phillip Holland was born in 1841 to John and Mary Scanlon Holland in Liscannor, Co. Clare. His mother was an Irish speaker, so John and his brothers learned English only after they were old enough to attend school.

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John Phillip Holland was a Irish born teacher who designed and built the first a series of submarines, several of which were purchased and used by various nations in warfare around the turn of the twentieth century. Holland also developed the U.S. Navy's first modern submarine and become known as the Father of the U.S. Submarine Service. This site is basic with a little navigation, but links within the text point visitors to several alternate sites concerning Holland and his submarines, several of which include images, drawings, and primary source materials from newspapers, correspondence, etc.